Mass in C minor, K. 427: Kyrie
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Recording
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, Carolyn Sampson (soprano)
- Album
- Mozart: Great Mass in C Minor & Exsultate, Jubilate
- Year
- 2015
- Length
- Period
- Classical era
- Listen
The piece
Mozart wrote the C minor Mass in Vienna in 1782 and 1783 and left it unfinished; its first performance was at St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg on 26 October 1783, with his wife Constanze probably singing the first soprano part. The Kyrie sets the chorus in C minor around a central Christe for solo soprano in E-flat major.
The recording
Masaaki Suzuki recorded the Mass with Bach Collegium Japan on period instruments at the Saitama Arts Theatre in November 2015, with Carolyn Sampson as first soprano. The disc won the Choral award at the 2017 Gramophone Awards.
Other recordings
Paul McCreesh's period-instrument recording with the Gabrieli Consort & Players (Archiv, 2005) and Ferenc Fricsay's with the RIAS Chamber Choir and Maria Stader (DG, 1959) are both worth knowing.